Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the impact of Covid 19 on the reception class cohort of September 2025; and whether additional (a) preparation and (b) provision has been made for that cohort.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Giving children the best start in life is the foundation of government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. The earliest years are the most crucial stage of child development. That is why we have set a milestone of a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn in the classroom. As announced in Plan for Change, we will measure our progress through 75% of children at the end of reception reaching a good level of development in the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile assessment by 2028.
Research showed that the COVID-19 pandemic set back children’s learning and development and may have exacerbated the outcome gap.
To help achieve the milestone set out in Plan for Change, the department will work in partnership with the sector, reforming training and support for the workforce to drive up standards. We will offer sustained professional development and work with providers to help spread evidence-based programmes as part of comprehensive plans to drive high-quality early education and care. We will ensure that the reception year sets children up for success, by rolling out schools’ access to evidence-based programmes that boost early literacy and numeracy skills.
The department is providing a range of high-quality support and training for early years educators and leaders, building a stronger, more expert workforce, to enable settings and childminders to deliver quality early education, including currently available continuing professional development and support such as Maths Champions, Early Years Child Development Training, and the Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs.
The government will also deliver the largest ever uplift to the early years pupil premium in the 2025/26 financial year, increasing the rate by over 45%, equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year. This unprecedented increase is an investment in quality early education for those children who need it most, in the areas that need it most, to give them the support they need to be ‘school ready’ at age 5 and go on to have the best life chances.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that teachers are given priority to enrol their children at schools they teach at.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
All mainstream state funded schools must have clear admission arrangements, set by the school’s admission authority, which include the oversubscription criteria they will use to give priority for places where there are more applicants than places available. The School Admissions Code allows admission authorities to give priority in their oversubscription criteria for children of staff who have been employed at the school for two or more years at the time when their application for a school place is made. The priority may also be applied for children of staff who have been recruited to fill a vacant post at the school for which there is a demonstrable skills shortage.
It is for individual admission authorities to decide whether to include such a priority in their admissions criteria, provided the arrangements comply with the School Admissions Code.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department are taking to increase +-teacher retention rates in rural areas.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
High quality teaching is the in-school factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education which is why sufficient high-quality teachers is key to delivering the government’s agenda to break down the barriers to opportunity. Measures will include getting more teachers into shortage subjects, supporting areas that face recruitment challenges and tackling retention issues. This will help ensure that children across the country, including rural areas, have the expert qualified teachers they need in order to achieve and thrive.
There are now 468,693 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state-funded schools in England, but numbers have not kept pace with demand. This is why the department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools, both mainstream and specialist, and our colleges over the course of this Parliament.
A successful recruitment strategy starts with a strong retention strategy. For 2024/25 and 2025/26, the department is offering a Targeted Retention Incentive worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools, many of which are in rural areas. This will support recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most.
The department is also working closely with teachers and school leaders to improve workload and wellbeing, which are key drivers of retention. We are also promoting flexible working, such as allowing planning, preparation and assessment time to be taken from home, and have made key resources to support wellbeing, developed with school leaders, available to teachers.
This includes ensuring there is a compelling financial offer to attract and keep high-quality teachers in these areas. The minimum starting salary for teachers, including those in rural areas, increased to £30,000 from the start of the 2023/24 academic year, and following the 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools from September, this has further increased to £31,650.
The department has announced an initial teacher training (ITT) financial incentives package for the 2025/26 recruitment cycle worth £233 million, a £37 million increase on the last cycle. This includes a range of measures, including bursaries worth £29,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £31,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainees to key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.
The department has established a network of 87 Teaching School Hubs serving schools across the country. The Hubs provide approved high-quality professional development to teachers at all stages of their careers and play a significant role in delivering ITT, the Early Career Framework, National Professional Qualifications and Appropriate Body services. Odyssey Teaching School Hub is a centre of excellence supporting teacher training and development across Tewkesbury, Forest of Dean, and Gloucester.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the allocation of funding for (a) PE and (b) Sports Premium in Gloucestershire.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Physical education (PE) is a national curriculum subject at all key stages and all schools receive funding to deliver it as part of their core budget. Core school budgets are increasing by £3.2 billion in 2025/26, meaning the core school budgets will total over £64.8 billion compared to almost £61.6 billion in 2024/25. Through the dedicated schools grant, Gloucestershire is receiving £522.3 million for mainstream schools in 2025/26. This represents an increase of 2.3% per pupil compared to 2024/25.
All primary schools receive PE and sport premium funding to make additional and sustainable improvements to the PE, sport and physical activity they provide, which is allocated on a formula based on the number of pupils in the school.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive on micro dairy farms.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has closed the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) for the submission of new applications, but existing agreements will continue. We now have over 37,000 live SFI agreements. Every penny in all existing SFI agreements will be paid to farmers, and outstanding eligible applications that have been submitted will be processed.
We will provide further details about the reformed SFI offer once the Spending Review has been completed.
SFI is an important offer, but it is part of a wider package. Ensuring fairness in supply chains is key for UK dairy farmers in supporting the sustainability of the sector. The Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024 came into force in July last year. These regulations improve fairness and transparency in dairy contracts, requiring clear terms on pricing, termination, and prohibiting unilateral changes.
In addition, the Dairy Export Taskforce, an industry/Government partnership, is focused on boosting export growth in the dairy sector. This included the organisation of a successful Government funded dairy showcase for international buyers in the autumn of 2024.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to increase access to GP appointments.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We’re investing an additional £889 million in funding for general practice in 2025-26, the biggest boost in years, and are recruiting 1,000 new GPs.
With this funding, we are making important reforms to bring back the family doctor and allow patients to request appointments online throughout core opening hours.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen economic ties with Ukraine.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK and Ukraine are strengthening economic ties through our Free Trade and Digital Trade Agreements and the UK-Ukraine 100 Year Partnership Agreement, signed by the Prime Minister and the President of Ukraine in January. Our commitments demonstrate firm intention to support Ukraine and enable UK businesses to contribute to Ukraine’s reconstruction and modernisation, driving mutual prosperity. Initiatives including the UK-Ukraine Infrastructure Taskforce and UK-Ukraine Techbridge, and regular defence trade missions, are encouraging bilateral trade and investment, strengthening industrial partnerships and improving market access for UK businesses.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce ambulance waiting times in (a) the South West of England and (b) Gloucestershire.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ambulance services in Gloucestershire and the South West are provided by the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, with responsibility for commissioning the services a matter for the local NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB). Specific local actions needed to reduce ambulance waiting times should be undertaken and agreed locally by National Health Service organisations in the best interests of the local population and patients.
At a national level, the Government and NHS England are committed to improving ambulance response times. The NHS 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance sets national priorities, which include improving accident and emergency waiting times and ambulance response times compared to 2024/25.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that teachers have access to accompaniment by professionally trained companions during (a) disciplinary and (b) grievance hearings.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The Employment Relations Act (ERA) 1999 states that teachers, like any other workers, are entitled to be accompanied by a colleague, a trade union employee or an official accredited by a trade union if called to a disciplinary or grievance meeting by their employer. Individuals may also ask to be accompanied by someone else, but the employer does not have to agree. The government has no plans to change that position for teachers.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the presence of asbestos at Ashchurch military barracks since 2019.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to the health and safety of our people and we have robust policies in place to safely manage asbestos in Defence in accordance with relevant legislation and Health and Safety Executive guidance. MOD complies with its legal obligation not to construct any new infrastructure containing asbestos and to maintain a risk register for legacy asbestos, treating it as appropriate.
In 2019 routine sampling identified asbestos within buildings on the Ashchurch site. The MOD immediately implemented measures and controls to reduce exposure risk and provide additional safeguards on site. Significant amounts of asbestos have now been removed and work continues to ensure any remaining asbestos is removed or made safe.